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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26275267">The Divine Penitence</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spunky0ne/pseuds/Spunky0ne'>Spunky0ne</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Mpreg, Romance/Angst, Yaoi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:08:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,173</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26275267</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spunky0ne/pseuds/Spunky0ne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In the fires of Aizen’s fall, Gin crawls away to spare Rangiku the torment of seeing him die. When he crosses paths with a despondent Kira, will he receive mercy or the ultimate punishment?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Byakuya, Ichimaru Gin/Kira Izuru, Urahara Kisuke/Kuchiki Tetsuya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 1: Unrepentant Hearts</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Unrepentant hearts</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Flowers falling into fire</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Flame burns our sins away</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Gin Ichimaru wasn’t sure when Rangiku’s tears ended and the rain began, but he knew one thing.</p><p>
  <em>Although Sosuke’s defeat has distracted her, she will come back here to find me, and before she does, I need to be gone. I’m gonna die soon, but I don’t want her to see.</em>
</p><p>He used his one remaining arm to drag himself out of the pile of debris he laid in, and then crawled along the ground, panting at the flashes and stings on his skin and the splashing of rain that rolled down his flesh like tears.</p><p>
  <em>At least the rain will wash the blood and reiatsu away so that she can’t follow me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t want her to see.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I don’t wanna see her cry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ichigo Kurosaki has done what I couldn’t, so she’s gonna be okay now. I’ve just gotta disappear so I don’t give her any more reasons to shed tears.</em>
</p><p>Having that as a mission made him push his shattered body harder, bringing pain so agonizing that real tears joined the rain and his breaths came out as choked sobs.</p><p>
  <em>I wish now that I was the snake I always claimed to be, so that I could just slither away.</em>
</p><p>But he didn’t expect fate to be kind. He gritted his teeth, working his three remaining limbs into exhaustion, but to his delight, reaching a drop off that would take him down into a heavily forested area, where he was much less likely to be found. Gin paused at the edge and looked back, his body shaking with cold and injury. His breaths stung mercilessly and he shuddered as Rangiku’s voice rose up in the distance, crying out his name.</p><p>“Gin! Gin, where are you? I know you’re not dead yet. ANSWER ME!” she howled.</p><p>Swallowing hard, he turned his head back so that he was looking down into the darkness below him.</p><p>
  <em>Couldn’t the fall just kill me and get this over with? It’s not like I didn’t suffer for my choices. I was willing to give everything, to suffer any cost…all of it to end the man who took away a piece of her soul and made her cry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Rangiku.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You were going to be so very, very strong. You would have achieved bankai in time. Sosuke stole that from you…and I meant to steal it back and take his life in exchange. Things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to. But either way, you’re going to learn to be stronger, right? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I just wish…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>…I could have seen it…</em>
</p><p>He took a shaky breath and let himself fall forward.</p><p>As his body tumbled downward, he was surprised to suddenly find his mind focused on that sadly beautiful unrequited wish.</p><p>
  <em>Rangiku took a firm stance, raising her weapon, her eyes bright and glowing with power and determination. He could see her draw in a long, deep breath, and then she loosed it again in a hard, ringing battle cry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ban-kai!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Gin smiled at the hiss of Heineko’s snarling release and he didn’t mind at all the tearing of his flesh as his friend’s freed power swept over him. There was only the sweeping sense of exhilaration that had gathered them both up and carried them away.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Beautiful,” he whispered under Heineko’s continued howling, “I knew you had it in you, Rangiku.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>His friend’s still powerlit eyes met his for a moment, then they flew open wider, seeming to realize that Gin was falling.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“GIN!” she screamed, dropping her sword and flash stepping after him.</em>
</p><p>He expected the fall to be merciless, for the pain to become even more shattering. He didn’t expect to just stop seeing, to just stop feeling the impact of his body on the unforgiving ground as he crashed down.</p><p>
  <em>Makes me wonder if I really fell or if I just collapsed at the edge and didn’t come down into the forest at all. Gods, I can’t feel anything anymore. I should be glad for that, but my mind hasn’t slowed or stopped. I’m still aware.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When is it going to end?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Will I sense when it’s happening or will I just fade into nothing?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What will it be like…to take death’s hand?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh…is that you?</em>
</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>“Sorry, Taicho, I don’t mean to be a bother,” Renji apologized, leaning heavily against the also weary noble as they crossed over into Soul Society, leaving the dark sands of Hueco Mundo behind them.</p><p>Immediately, the two were plummeted into an icy, vicious downpour that soaked them to the skin in a matter of moments. The distraction saved Byakuya from having to spare the breath to answer his subordinate, but it was quickly stolen away again as a torrent of wind assaulted them.</p><p>“D-damn,” Renji panted, his legs shaking under him.</p><p>“The tremendous exchanges of power, the heavy attacks and counterattacks have caused an imbalance that is affecting the weather,” Byakuya reflected.</p><p>“You don’t say,” Renji grumbled, spitting out a mouthful of rain that had leaked down his face, “It’s not enough everything’s shot to shit, now we’ve got this downpour too. Ugh!”</p><p>“We are not far from Kuchiki Manor,” Byakuya replied, brushing the sopping strands of raven black hair away from his eyes, “According to the communication from my cousin, there were intermittent hollow attacks while the fight with Aizen was going on, however, the manor survived with only minor damage and no casualties. Our house healers will be able to address our injuries.”</p><p>“And then, can we have something to eat, Taicho?” Renji complained, patting his stomach, “I’m so hungry I’m feeling dizzy, y’know?”</p><p>“You are feeling dizzy because of the damage you sustained in the battles in Hueco Mundo,” Byakuya said sternly.</p><p>“But I am hungry too,” Renji insisted.</p><p>“Aren’t you always?” the noble sighed.</p><p>They started along a sodden, dirt path that bordered a forested area on the edge of the Kuchiki lands, but only a few more steps along, Renji stumbled and groaned, sagging against Byakuya.</p><p>“Renji?”</p><p>“Y-yeah, Taicho,” the redhead mumbled, his body wobbling under Byakuya’s firm grasp, “Sorry, I…”</p><p>He tried another step and started to collapse.</p><p>“Renji!” Byakuya snapped, his eyes widening as he was forced to lay his unconscious subordinate on the muddy ground.</p><p>He knelt beside the redhead, quickly checking his vital signs and he sensed the weakness in his reiatsu.</p><p>“It was presumptuous of you to think that you could make the trip back to the Seireitei in your condition. You should have rested longer,” he chided his unconscious partner. What were you thinking, Renji?”</p><p>
  <em>I suppose it is more than clear what Renji was thinking when he made that decision. He was unnecessarily worried about the injuries I sustained in the Hueco Mundo battles, when he should have been more focused on the damage that he took. I have warned him countless times that such thinking is foolish. But after the way Aizen manipulated us into fighting each other…I suppose Renji still hasn’t forgiven himself.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I think I have not forgiven myself either. But it is pointless to continue down that path. Aizen has fallen and this rain is washing his treachery away. The air is fresher already, and when the rain has washed everything clean, we will begin anew.</em>
</p><p>Byakuya shifted slightly, breathing in slowly and watching as the falling rain splashed down on the redhead’s pale face.</p><p>
  <em>Hmm, I would heal him, myself, but my reiatsu was depleted, and it will take time to restore itself. Still, he is in need of immediate attention.</em>
</p><p>The noble scanned the area around them and let out a discontented huff of breath.</p><p>
  <em>There is nowhere close by to find the assistance we need. I will simply have to pick him up and carry him to Kuchiki Manor. It is probably good that the man is unconscious. I can just imagine his indignant response to being carried like a child. He is a stubborn man.</em>
</p><p>He sighed softly, recalling the moments he had glimpsed Renji fighting off the hollows that had raked over them as Aizen’s realm had collapsed and Hueco Mundo had fallen into chaos.</p><p>
  <em>He is a beautifully powerful man too.</em>
</p><p>Byakuya took a steadying breath and bent to gather Renji into his arms, but just as he was about to lift the collapsed man off of the ground, he heard prancing footsteps and the whinny of a horse.</p><p>“Arashi,” he breathed in a relieved sigh as a tall black Arabian stallion burst out of the brush and skidded to a stop in front of him.</p><p>Byakuya’s cousin, a slighter, more delicate looking young man, marked with the same pale beauty as the Kuchiki leader, but with vibrant sapphire eyes and wavy, untamed hair, slid down off of the horse’s back and pulled the healer’s pack off of his shoulder.</p><p>“What happened, Byakuya-sama?” he asked, quickly taking up a position at Renji’s side and beginning a swift examination, “Was it the fighting in Hueco Mundo or were you attacked here?”</p><p>“I believe it is just damage from the battles in Hueco Mundo,” Byakuya confirmed, “The environment there was as unforgiving as the fighting, and there was little time for proper healing between conflicts.”</p><p>“Hmm,” Tetsuya muttered, extending his hands over Renji and raising a powerful field of glowing green healing energy, “I could sense your reiatsu during the fighting, when I wasn’t fighting, myself. I also sensed great expulsions of Zaraki taicho’s power near you. He…ah, did not return with you?”</p><p>“He headed for Karakura Town,” Byakuya said, frowning, “I suppose he hoped to find someone left to fight there.”</p><p>“Although after the worthy battle he encountered in Hueco Mundo <em>while Yamamoto sotaicho was busy and not looking</em>…”</p><p>“Tetsuya.”</p><p>His cousin gave him a patient smile.</p><p>“All right, I won’t chide you for being reckless and fighting with Zaraki taicho when you shouldn’t.”</p><p>“Good, because this rain is unpleasant enough.”</p><p>“I thought you liked the rain,” Tetsuya chuckled, increasing the flow of healing energy into the unconscious redhead’s body.</p><p>“I do, in moderation,” the Kuchiki leader admitted.</p><p>Tetsuya gave his cousin a little smirk and breathed a soft command to his zanpakuto, and the path of the raindrops around them changed so that the drops weren’t striking them anymore.</p><p>“Is that better, Byakuya-sama?”</p><p>“Much,” Byakuya answered, watching as his cousin continued to heal Renji’s injuries, “How is he, Tetsuya?”</p><p>“His reiatsu is nearly exhausted and because he didn’t have sufficient rest or healing between battles, his body is badly strained. He needs more than field healing, however with the overflow of injured that have been sent from the fourth division and the higher officers of the fourth still attending injured at the battle site, I don’t think we have the capacity to give him the care he needs.”</p><p>“I see,” Byakuya said, reaching up and rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “Then, you recommend seeking treatment…?”</p><p>“I received word from your old friend, Yoruichi-san.”</p><p>“I would hardly call that cat woman a friend.”</p><p>“Well, whatever you call her, she did say that if we needed more help with injured, Tessai is ready at Kisuke Urahara’s shop.”</p><p>“Very well,” the Kuchiki leader said decidedly, “We will take Renji there for more healing.”</p><p>“I think he is stable enough for Arashi to carry him, but you will need to hold him in place.”</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>Tetsuya turned a stern eye onto his standing spirit steed.</p><p>“Arashi, you are to use a gentle gait with Renji-san,” he said firmly, “and no playing games with him like you usually do. He is in no condition for that.”</p><p>The stallion snorted and stamped, but gave his master a little nod of affirmation as Byakuya gave his cousin a curious look.</p><p>“You will not be accompanying us?” Byakuya asked, “Are you needed that badly at home? Our family and staff…?”</p><p>“Oh, our family and staff are fine, but yes, I am needed to help with the other injured that have been brought to us. And also, I sensed something in the forest here that I will need to investigate.”</p><p>“What did you sense?”</p><p>“There was a disturbance in the reiatsu in this area that didn’t come from you. I have set barriers against more hollow attacks, but I need to make sure that the hollows are not trying to break through in there.”</p><p>“Yes, of course. Just…be cautious, as you will not have Arashi with you.”</p><p>Tetsuya smiled warmly as he helped Byakuya lift Renji onto Arashi’s back, then the Kuchiki leader climbed up to hold the redhead in place.</p><p>“It is probably nothing,” he assured his cousin, “But, I will of course be careful. You be careful as well, Byakuya-sama.”</p><p>“I will.”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>Sensing the arrival of the twelfth division at the place where Karakura Town was still protected within the Soul Society, Izuru Kira gave a sigh of relief and turned to the three officers from his division, who stood waiting for his orders.</p><p>“They’re here now,” he said solemnly, “The three of you can go back and check in at the division. Go heal up and get some rest.”</p><p>“What about you, sir?” one of the men asked, “Are you coming back too?”</p><p>It should have been an innocuous question, but, Kira realized, with the defection and death of their taicho, it made sense they would worry that he would leave them too.</p><p>“I’ll be along,” he assured them, “Just go on and make sure that everyone needing healing gets taken care of, and take care of yourselves. I have a few things to do, then I will come back to check in as well.”</p><p>“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a little company?” the fourth seat offered.</p><p>“No, it’s fine, Saburo,” he insisted, “The fighting is over and the area is secure. Go on back now.”</p><p>“Yes sir!”</p><p>He waited as the others had gone, then he set off down a small trail that led him away from the protected Karakura Town and into the forest bordering the vast Kuchiki estate. It was easier once he was in amongst the trees, on the quiet, muddy path, to push away the dregs of battle adrenaline and to quiet his mind</p><p>
  <em>Now…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Finally, since the battles have ended, I can start to try to make sense of what seems so inconceivable. When Gin joined Tousen and Aizen in their betrayal, I didn’t want to believe that my taicho would do something like that to all of us. It was devastating when it became so clear that he did. It wasn’t just my heart that this betrayal broke. The whole squad felt the pain…the agony of being abandoned. It was on all of their faces, as I know it was plainly set upon mine.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The lonely feelings of being left behind.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The dishonor…no, the disgrace.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He made us all look like we’d been fools to ever trust him. Of course, it’s easy to look back now and see all of the little signs that we missed as they happened. Given all of those things, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But life isn’t like that. You can’t use hindsight to try to judge how you should have reacted. We all gave Ichimaru taicho the benefit of the doubt. We honored our part of the bargain. We didn’t do anything wrong…and yet, he is the one who has been freed. At least, in death, he will never face the punishment for his sins.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We are the ones who will pay the price. We will wear his shame and bear the looks of disapproval, the cold judgment of others, the outright blame sometimes by those who lost family and friends in the war. Yes, even though we remained true to our word, dedicated in our service, we will be the ones to shoulder the pain of what he did.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And yet…when the whisper of another reason came, as soon as I heard Rangiku had witnessed him trying to kill Aizen…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In that briefest of moments, while I should have known better, when I should have said that it didn’t matter, when I should have held firm against it…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>…still…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I wanted to believe.</em>
</p><p>Kira realized suddenly that his feet had stopped moving, and that he was standing still with the raindrops falling down through the trees and splashing on his clothes and skin. As though the flood of tears inside his chest had finally been too much and burst free, all spread out around him, they could drop down slowly in misted drips that hung on everything.</p><p>
  <em>How stupid is it that I really want him to come back?</em>
</p><p>Kira froze as, somewhere nearby, a low, pained groan sounded, then there was a little ruffling in the brush. He peered into the haze and could barely make out the huddled form of a man…a flash of silvery hair.</p><p>
  <em>It can’t be!</em>
</p><p>His teeth clenched and he took a step towards the collapsed person, unable to divine whether he could bear it being true or not being true. There was heartbreak in either answer. But in the end, he had to take the steps. He put one foot in front of the other, slowly closing the distance, and even more slowly, drawing his weapon.</p><p>When he finally reached the person and looked down at his pale face and weak smile, his heart broke all over again.</p><p>“Gin.”</p><p>“Oh, is that you?</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>My heart is broken</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>You know that fire can’t burn ash</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Unforgivable</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Yes, your eyes tell the story</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>It’s time to bring the blade down</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>“Go ahead, Kira. Isn’t it time to take the head of the enemy?” Gin whispered, his blue eyes glazing over, “Someone like me doesn’t deserve to just die so quietly and fearlessly, isn’t that right?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Without Justice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kira turns a blind eye as Tetsuya takes Gin away to be healed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks so SesshomaruFreak for her assistance with the delicious Ren/Bya!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>XXXXXXXXXX</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>If true love is blind</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>In the way that Justice rules</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>We are truly lost</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>XXXXXXXXXX</strong>
</p><p>“Don’t look so tortured, Izuru,” Gin said, closing his eyes against the raindrops that tried to fill them, “It’s an easy question. Are you gonna put me outta my misery, once and for all, or do you think I should live? And if you aren’t gonna to kill me, then what’re you gonna do with me?”</p><p>He cracked an eye barely open to peek up at his former second in command, and found Kira frozen, staring at him with wide, haunted eyes.</p><p>“Cause you know that if I am taken to Central 46, I won’t live to be sentenced to death. Powers that be wanna hang what bodies they can as a warning. They can’t kill Sosuke, and Tosen is already dead, so they’d kill the one they could catch, if they didn’t kill me to silence me first. It’d be a quick, convenient answer, wouldn’t it? Lop off my head right now or let Central 46 or an assassin do it. Any way you look at it, I’m dead and any truths I have, I’ll take with me.”</p><p>“What is <em>the truth</em>?”</p><p>Gin smiled and drew a rattling breath.</p><p>“Did you…did you really do it for her? For Rangiku?”</p><p>“Huh,” Gin managed, coughing, “now, why does that matter? Doesn’t change a thing. So what if it was for her?”</p><p>Kira shivered as he felt the intensifying rain leaking freely through his clothing and running down his shaky body. His eyes remained riveted on the wreck of a man in front of him.</p><p>“It matters to me,” the blonde man said more softly.</p><p>“It would be easier to kill me if I was just evil, ne?” Gin laughed, coughing on his still leaking blood, “I can be evil…or maybe I can’t in this condition. I don’t know. But it hurts a lot, so maybe you should just end it.”</p><p>Kira’s eyes and expression darkened as he looked down at his sword and watched it seal itself. He slid the blade into its sheath, then dropped down to kneel beside his fallen former captain.</p><p>“You gonna sit with me while I die?” Gin asked, blinking slowly, “That’s decent of you.”</p><p>A flicker of surprise appeared on his face as healing power glowed around his former subordinate’s hands.</p><p>“Thanks for that,” Gin said gratefully.</p><p>“Don’t say that yet,” Kira said warily, “I don’t know if I can do anything to keep you from dying, and even if I do save your life, I don’t know what I’ll do after that.”</p><p>Kira startled as Gin’s body shook and a pained laugh escaped him.</p><p>“What? What’s so funny?” he stammered.</p><p>“You are,” Gin snickered weakly, “thinking you can cure this. You can’t. When Sosuke realized that I actually do have a heart, he put his sword through it to kill it…and me. Ain’t nothing you can do about it now.”</p><p>Kira looked down at the power flowing around his hands and sighed.</p><p>“You’re probably right, but…I have to try.”</p><p>“To ease your conscience?” Gin queried.</p><p>“For the same reason you betrayed us all and tried to kill Aizen. For her.”</p><p>“So, you believe me about that, and it at least makes you wanna be merciful. That’s…really noble of you, but then, unlike me, you <em>are</em> noble.”</p><p>Kira brushed aside a few stray silvery hairs that had fallen over Gin’s icy blue eyes.</p><p>“What’s that look?” Gin gently chided him, “A noble boy like you shouldn’t look so sad about a common peasant dying, especially after what I’ve done.”</p><p>“You know I don’t look at you like that,” Kira said, looking away for a moment, “I never have.”</p><p>“Regrets, Izuru?” Gin sighed, “You shouldn’t waste them on me.”</p><p>“Why do you do that?” Kira asked, his frown deepening, “If you think it’s wrong for nobles to look down on peasants, and if you were willing to die to do something truly noble, then you shouldn’t put yourself down.”</p><p>Gin smiled.</p><p>“You think a peasant from the Rukongai should have so much pride?”</p><p>“All men have pride,” Kira said quietly as his hands moved to hover over the gaping wound in the silver-haired man’s chest, “There are just some who think that a man’s pride should be in his status. I don’t.”</p><p>“Hmm, well, you are from a lower ranked clan, so I suppose our boats don’t circle so far from each other’s, do they?”</p><p>Kira shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment.</p><p>“Just be still and…”</p><p>The blonde man stiffened, placing a hand on the hilt of his weapon as light footsteps sounded on the trail nearby. Gin started to object that he shouldn’t earn himself a death sentence too, but he paused breathlessly as he recognized the face of the young man approaching them.</p><p>“Tetsuya Kuchiki,” he whispered raggedly, “Well now, that will put a spin on things, won’t it?”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>Byakuya held his unconscious fukutaicho against his chest, with his hands slipped beneath Renji’s clothing, sending healing power into his seeping wounds, as his cousin’s black mount carried the two officers through the precipice world, then through a senkaimon and down into the underground training room at Kisuke Urahara’s Karakura Town candy shop. He was relieved to find the shopkeeper waiting for him.</p><p>“Welcome back, Kuchiki taicho,” Kisuke greeted him, “Looks like you’ve got your hands full there.”</p><p>“So it seems.”</p><p>“I got your hell butterfly, just couldn’t answer cause we’re kinda overflowing with patients. I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with Renji while you two are here, cause we’re kind of overflowing. But, I’ve got a room ready for you, if you’ll just bring him this way.”</p><p>Kisuke held Renji on the horse’s back as Byakuya slid down, then the noble collected his unconscious subordinate and followed the shopkeeper up into the shop and into one of the guest rooms. Byakuya laid his fukutaicho on the bed in the room, then he stood back, watching as Kisuke leaned over the redhead and carefully opened his clothing. He worked in silence for several minutes, then nodded to Byakuya.</p><p>“You did a good job of stabilizing him,” he complimented the noble, “I will have Orihime come in later, once she’s had more of a chance to rest, and she can finish up. In the meantime, keep infusing him with your reiatsu. I know you’re pretty drained yourself, but…”</p><p>“I understand. I can watch over him,” Byakuya said, moving to take over again as Kisuke left the room.</p><p>He sat down in a chair at Renji’s bedside, coloring slightly as he couldn’t help seeing and quietly appreciating the bold, enchanting patterns on his fukutaicho’s muscular chest, soft belly and…</p><p>
  <em>Ah, even there…</em>
</p><p>He was more than a little grateful that Renji was too blissfully unaware, and couldn’t see the growing flush on his lovely face and throat. He mentally scolded himself, self-flagellation a more comfortable and familiar state.</p><p>
  <em>How disgraceful, ogling your subordinate, especially when he's out cold from injuries! Once again, you shame yourself.</em>
</p><p>With a sigh, Byakuya carefully worked the bigger Soul Reaper free of the rest of his clothing so he wouldn't miss even the smallest wounds. Cuts still littered the tanned flesh, looking almost like the results of an attack by Senbonzakura.</p><p>Renji gave a pained groan as the lean muscles twitched, but the redhead did not wake.</p><p>Byakuya took another fortifying breath and raised his hands as they began to glow. The light was not the green of healing kido, but the soft pink radiance of his own reiatsu. Slowly, it sank into Renji's body.</p><p>The younger man seemed to settle under his ministrations, and Byakuya himself relaxed a fraction.</p><p>He carefully moved his hands over the cuts, letting his energy soak into the muscular body. He was careful not to drain himself too much.</p><p>Byakuya's eyes drifted to Renji's face, more relaxed than he'd seen in a while. His curious gaze lowered to the redhead’s vulnerable throat, then over his tattooed chest, following the inky black designs. Almost unconsciously, his fingers lowered themselves to the wicked pattern that spanned the muscular expanse.</p><p>Slowly, he traced the edges of his subordinate's body art, lost in the methodical stroking and the warmth emanating from Renji's exotically marked flesh.</p><p>
  <em>He is beautiful...</em>
</p><p>Byakuya slowly moved to the jagged lines on Renji's lean abdominals, tracing them as well where they flowed over the soft skin and hard muscle.</p><p>Soon enough, his wandering fingers had reached the lowest of the markings, mere inches above where the fiery redhead's equally vibrant member rested.</p><p>Byakuya was shocked to see that the younger man's body was swollen and hard, as if Renji was somehow aware and responding to his touch.</p><p>Reiatsu still seeping from his fingers into the bigger Soul Reaper, Byakuya forced his eyes away, only then noticing the different feel of Renji's reiatsu.</p><p>The redhead was awake...and Byakuya had no idea how long he'd been so.</p><p>A quick, instinctive glance told him Renji's eyes were still closed. So, he was pretending to still be asleep. It wasn't like Byakuya could call him on it; after what he'd just been doing, he'd be lucky if Renji didn't decide to bring charges against him.</p><p>Careful not to let on that he knew the younger man was awake, Byakuya steadily decreased his reiatsu flow until the connection between them was broken. He closed his subordinate's yukata, then sat in the chair by the bed, pretending to be preoccupied.</p><p>After a handful of minutes, Renji stirred as if just waking up. Like he hadn't awakened the moment his superior had touched him. Growing up in the Rukon, you did <em>not</em> sleep through someone touching you. Not if you wanted to ever get out alive.</p><p>He blinked, squinting at the brightness of the light and still trying to wrap his head around what he'd found when he'd regained consciousness.</p><p>
  <em>Taicho…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He was touching me so tenderly...and I can feel his reiatsu inside of me.</em>
</p><p>"I see you're awake. I should let Urahara know."</p><p>The noble started to stand, only to be stopped again as Renji’s warm hand touched his arm.</p><p>“Taicho.”</p><p>Byakuya looked back at him silently. But whatever it was that the redhead had thought to say had disappeared as quickly as it had risen in his skittering mind.</p><p>
  <em>When he looks at me like that, my mind just goes blank. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>What does that mean?</em>
</p><p>“S-sorry,” he mumbled, hastily removing his hand, “it’s nothing.”</p><p><em>Damn it! </em>he mused, smacking his forehead as the noble turned and left the room. He reeled at the instant shock of agony it caused.</p><p>“Owwww, fuck!” he whimpered, “Great job, <em>baka</em>…”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>Tetsuya Kuchiki stood still on the trail, his sapphire eyes studying the badly injured Gin, and his haunted looking former lieutenant. He noted the slightly shaking hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword called Wabiske, and he met Kira’s eyes calmly.</p><p>“With your permission, sir,” the half-noble said solemnly, “under the rules of the Healer’s Oath, I would like to heal that man. Will you allow me to proceed peacefully?”</p><p>Kira felt a little shiver of relief pass through him, and he nodded and stepped back.</p><p>“Yeah,” he answered in a low, rough voice, “go ahead. I…heard something I need to check out.”</p><p>He turned away as Tetsuya approached, walking a few steps before he stopped and spoke again without looking back.</p><p>“I would…make sure you are gone before I come back,” he said sternly, “While I will not violate the boundaries of the Healer’s Oath by killing him in front of you or hurting you for trying to heal him, there are those whose anger is greater than their dedication to the law.”</p><p>Tetsuya took a steadying breath and nodded.</p><p>“Kira,” Gin called shakily.</p><p>His former subordinate’s pale eyes looked back at him wearily.</p><p>“I know you did it for her…and I’m grateful. Take care of her, okay? Let her think I’m dead if it helps her feel better.”</p><p>Kira turned without answering and flash stepped away, leaving Gin looking quietly after him. He started to speak, then coughed and shuddered as Tetsuya knelt at his side, extending his hands over the injured man.</p><p>“Maybe he wouldn’t be lying if he told her I’m d-dead,” Gin mused dazedly.</p><p>Tetsuya met his eyes for a moment and laced warm fingers together with his.</p><p>“I am not going to let you die,” he promised, “You are badly injured, but healing you does not go beyond the scope of my abilities.”</p><p>“You must b-be a very t-talented healer.”</p><p>“I would not be given responsibility for caring for my clan’s leader if I was not,” Tetsuya assured him as he swiftly wrapped his power around the fallen man, and their bodies seemed to change to blend into their surroundings.</p><p>Gin blinked in surprise as he watched cool, blue, watery reiatsu leak out of Tetsuya’s hands and into the gaping hole in his chest.</p><p>“You m-must have some feelings of some k-kind about having to heal someone like me.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Tetsuya asked, looking down into Gin’s pained eyes, “If you were the criminal they claim you are, you wouldn’t have been trying to kill Sousuke Aizen, would you?”</p><p>“I tried to kill a lot of people…Rukia, Ichigo…even you p-precious leader,” Gin confessed his eyes blinking slowly and a shiver going through him as he realized that his body was growing more and more numb to the pain, “I’m a dangerous man, a real snake. Aren’t you afraid I might try to kill you?”</p><p>Tetsuya sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment as he considered the question carefully.</p><p>“I think that people are complicated,” he answered quietly, focusing on Gin’s pained eyes again, “I hope that you will respect the boundaries of the Healer’s Oath and do me no harm, as I have promised to do to you.”</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Gin chuckled weakly, coughing and shuddering as the light around Tetsuya’s healing hands intensified, “Even a snake desires living more than it desires killing, so you are safe enough…for the time being.”</p><p>Tetsuya frowned and turned his attention to the area around their concealed forms.</p><p>“I don’t really think either one of us is safe here,” he commented softly, “But I know where we can go.”</p><p>“J-just…don’t take me anywhere I’m gonna be sent to Central 46 the second I wake up, okay? At least give me a little head start.”</p><p>“Why are you so convinced I will turn you in?” asked the healer, “I promise you that I am committed to my word and my oath. Please trust me.”</p><p>“Like I have any choice about that,” Gin snickered, coughing again.</p><p>“I need you to try to hold still now,” Tetsuya said, using his reiatsu to lift and hold the injured man’s body off the ground, “Rest while I get us to safety.”</p><p>Gin fell silent, watching through weary eyes as the gentle half-noble checked his injuries once more, then opened a private family senkaimon and guided Gin’s suspended body into it. He sighed in relief as the doorway closed behind them and they were left in the dark, quiet corridor between worlds. As Tetsuya transported him along the corridor, Gin settled enough to doze, his mind going back to being found by his subordinate.</p><p>
  <em>It seems strange for Izuru to offer me any means of escape. Despite knowing now that I wasn’t really with Aizen, he knows that I was also not really innocent. In the process of gaining Sousuke’s trust, I broke plenty of rules and I hurt and even killed people.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I am a criminal.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I deserve punishment.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I probably deserved the death that Sousuke tried to hand me.</em>
</p><p>He cracked open one blue eye to observe Tetsuya, studying the comely healer’s bowed head and intent expression.</p><p>
  <em>But somehow I’ve been steered into the hands of maybe the one soul in Soul Society that would not want to kill me on sight. Hmm, he is going to need protection. If anyone knows he helped me, there could be some deadly consequences.</em>
</p><p>He smirked and gave a little chuckle that turned into a pained cough. Tetsuya paused and looked down at him for a moment.</p><p>“Are you all right?” he asked, “Do you need a pain block?”</p><p>“Heh,” Gin mused, blinking dizzily, “I think I need you to hate me a little more, Tetsu-chan, so I stop feeling guilty for burdening you with this.”</p><p>“I am a healer,” Tetsuya assured him, “I know full well the risks of my profession. Do not forget that, healer though I am, I also protect the leader of the greatest of the noble clans. You needn’t worry about what I’ve gotten myself into…though…”</p><p>He paused, looking at Gin more closely.</p><p>“It is good to see a kinder side of you,” he finished, turning his attention back to moving Gin through the precipice world.</p><p>“I wouldn’t trust it if I were you,” Gin advised him.</p><p>“You <em>are</em> a difficult person to figure out,” the half-noble admitted, “but I suppose I can trust you to cooperate while you are being healed. After that, I suppose I will have to be sure to keep my guard up around you.”</p><p>Gin laughed and started coughing again.</p><p>“Gin-san…” Tetsuya objected.</p><p>“Well then, don’t be so funny,” Gin teased him.</p><p>The silver-haired man’s face grew more serious as Tetsuya opened a doorway out of the precipice world and guided him into the underground training area beneath Kisuke Urahara’s shop.</p><p>“Hmm, are you sure that this is a good idea?” Gin asked, betraying a little more anxiety than he meant to as the banished former captain approached the two, wearing a less than happy expression.</p><p>“Hey there, Tetsu-chan,” he greeted Tetsuya, who gave him a little smile and nodded.</p><p>“Urahara-san.”</p><p>“Would ya’ call me Kisuke?” the shopkeeper chuckled, shaking his head, “We’re friends…though, I maybe question your taste in friends a bit right now, if you know what I mean.”</p><p>“Kisuke-san,” Tetsuya said in a serious tone, “This patient is in critical condition and requires immediate treatment. As you might have guessed, he wishes to avoid unwanted attention.”</p><p>“Right, I guess so, since half the Seireitei’s gonna be out looking to find the pieces of his Aizen-mangled body.”</p><p>Tetsuya looked into Kisuke’s grey eyes steadily.</p><p>“I can provide proof that this man was working against Aizen. He has committed numerous crimes, against the Gotei 13, against some of my friends and even my family, but under the rules of the Healer’s Oath, I ask your assistance in finding a safe place where, with your help, I can continue to heal this man.”</p><p>Kisuke paused for a moment, then broke into an amused smile.</p><p>“Your wish is my command, healer,” he answered, raising an eyebrow, “Come with me.”</p><p>
  <strong>XXXXXXXXXX</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Flowers on the breeze</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Bending, swaying, breaking free</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>We don’t know which direction</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>We might be carried</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>XXXXXXXXXX</strong>
</p>
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